


The Neighbors Must be Infatuated

by scarlet_breeze



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Podium Family, Yurio actually cares a lot for them, Yurio will make sure of that :), Yuuri and viktor are already a couple, but he won't get in the way of the main couple, but yurio is still the best wingman, just something fun i wanted to write, lots of cuteness in here!!, lots of fluff, no angst i promise, no jealousy i promise, the original character is just there for plot purposes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-05-10 02:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14727950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarlet_breeze/pseuds/scarlet_breeze
Summary: It's been a few months after Yuuri moves to Saint Petersburg with Viktor. One day, he accidentally received the wrong letter in the mail and, like the good neighbor that he is, decides to return it to the right person. Unknown to him, the owner of the letter takes a liking to Yuuri. Yurio notices this and decides to stop whatever plot their apartment neighbor has to woo Yuuri.Or Alternatively: Yurio tries everything in his power, and with the help of Otabek, to keep the neighbor away from Yuuri. Even if it means buying a bouquet of flowers for Yuuri in Viktor's name.AKA: A cute fic on how Yurio tries his best to keep his podium family together even though it was never in danger in the first place.





	1. Of Neighbors and Cheetah Sisters

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Guys! This is my first Yuri on Ice fic so I hope you like it and give it a shot! It's gonna be really cute, silly, and fluffy!! This was actually inspired by a Courage the Cowardly Dog episode where a goose god falls in love with Muriel and Courage tries to stop his advancements towards her. I know, it sounds weird but I promise, there are no goose gods here! This is unbeta'ed so I hope I caught most of my mistakes!

Walking through the streets of Saint Petersburg was something Yuuri was definitely still getting used to. Three months had already passed since he uprooted his life for the third time to move to Russia in order to keep training with Viktor. Although he missed his family and friends back in Japan, the move was well worth it. Viktor would stay as his coach while continuing his career as a skater, and they would also be living with each other. That’s the part that excited him the most. Now that he and Viktor were engaged, they could spend the rest of their lives together. It didn’t matter whether he lived in America, Japan, or Russia, as long as he was with Viktor he would be happy.

Though, as a chilly gust blew, he was not happy at that moment. Sure, he had Makkachin with him, but he was cold and his ankle was starting to bother him. Not to mention Viktor was currently at the rink and _not_ with him. Suddenly, he felt a slight buzz coming from his pocket.

 _“Speak of the devil and he shall appear,”_ thought Yuuri as he checked his phone’s screen once it started to vibrate in his pocket.

“Hello?” he answered.

“YUURI! You’re supposed to be at home resting your ankle! Not walking around town buying pastries!” yelled Viktor from the other end of the phone. Yuuri could tell that there was worry in Viktor’s tone of voice. He felt bad for not listening to “coach’s orders” to rest after experiencing a first-degree ankle sprain at the rink two days ago, but he had to get out of the house or he would go crazy. The perfect excuse being-

“I had to take Makkachin out for a walk. He was getting antsy being in the house all day.” It wasn’t a total lie. He _did_ have to take Makkachin out, but in reality, Yuuri was the one beginning to get antsy. He heard Viktor sigh.

“I’m ok, I promise,” he reassured, “And I promise I’m not just eating junk food all day. I just decided to pass by the bakery for a quick coffee and the owner gave me a treat for Mak- wait. How do you know I’m not at the apartment?”

“Oh! Georgi told me he saw you when he got back from his lunch break!” Viktor replied with his usual cheerful voice. But at soon as he finished his sentence, he gave another sigh.

“I just worry about you, you know. And I don’t mean just as your coach.”

“Yeah…I know.”

A small silence stretched between them. All Yuuri could hear was Makkachin’s soft panting and Viktor’s words echoing in his mind. Guilt started to build up inside him as he realized just how much he had worried his fiancé.

“I’m sorry. And you’re right. I _should_ be home resting.”

“No, my love, _I’m_ sorry. I know it can get frustrating staying indoors for a long period of time, _especially_ because of injuries. You should be able to go out once in a while,” Viktor responded.

With a hint of humor now in his voice he continued, “I’ll just see this as part of your physical therapy. New coach’s orders! Light exercises will include walking Makkachin one to two times a day with the discretion of the patient!”

Yuuri chuckled at that. His fiancé could be extremely silly at times, but that’s one of the many reasons he fell for him.

“Yes, sir!”

Another silence stretched, but this time it was comforting.

“Get home safe, Yuuri. I’ll see you and Makka later at home.”

Yuuri let out a hum, “I’ll see you later. I promise I won’t do anything reckless.”

“Good! Because I don’t want anything to happen to my wonderful husband!”

“We’re not married yet!” Yuuri responded as a light blush appeared on his cheeks.

Viktor just laughed, because although he couldn’t see his fiancé at the moment, he knew that that tone meant he was definitely blushing. With that thought in mind, he whispered a ‘love you’ with one last goodbye.

After hanging up, Viktor heaved another sigh. He didn’t have time to snap out of his moment, however, because as soon as he looked up from his screen, he felt a hard kick land on his back. He didn’t have to turn around to know who it was.

“Hey! Old man! Are you gonna do your job or are you gonna goof off all day like a loser?”

 _Yup, that’s Yurio,”_ Viktor thought, “Yes, yes. We’ll get back to practice right now. I was just talking to Yuuri.”

The teen stared at him silently as if trying to figure out if the person in front of him was actually Viktor or not.

“Are you two ok? You don’t look as happy as you do after talking with Katsudon,” he said. Despite the many insults and sarcastic comments that came out of the boy’s mouth, Viktor and Yuuri knew the teen cared for them both. After all, if he really hated the couple, Yuri wouldn’t spend six out of the seven days of the week at their apartment for hours on end. It sometimes ended up with him sleeping over. Sometimes he would bring Potya with him, which Makkachin adored. His question made Viktor smile, but more importantly, it gave him a chance to tease the young boy.

“Aww! Yurio! I didn’t know you care about us!” he said as he threw himself to engulf the younger in a hug. Yuri bristled at his actions and started to wrestle the hug off himself.

“I don’t _care_ about your lover’s spat! Let me go!” he declared. Viktor complied and let go of the boy.

“Well, to answer your question, Georgi told me earlier that he spotted Yuuri at the bakery by our apartment. I called him to ask why he wasn’t home resting, but I guess my worrying made him feel a little guilty. I didn’t mean to, but I still worry. You know how reckless he can be at time.”

“He’s reckless but he’s not stupid. He’s an athlete who knows how to take care of his body. Have more trust in Katsudon.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust him, I do, but….”

Yuri sighed, “But you worry. I know. I get it.”

A moment passed but Victor still seemed like he was thinking of Yuuri. He knew that if Viktor couldn’t get in the right mind set, there would be no proper practice that day.

“Look, if you’re really all that worried, I’ll stop by your apartment and check on Katsudon after practice today since you’re staying to teach the pipsqueaks after I’m done with training.” Viktor’s face lit up with gratefulness.

“Really?! You’d do that for me?!”

“Not for you. But I know Katsudon will have food made by the time I arrive, so really, I’m doing this for my own benefit,” Yuri answered. _“Besides, it was partly my fault for the sprained ankle since I was the one who bumped into him as he was landing a quad….Stupid Mila. That hag is always chasing me around the rink for no reason,”_ he thought.

As if reading his mind, Viktor smiled fondly at him and said, “Sure, whatever you say Yurio. Thank you.”

“Yeah, whatever. Now, would you kindly do your job since you oh so kindly volunteered to coach me while Yakov is gone?” the young skater replied sarcastically with an eye roll.

Yakov had left on a week-long ‘business trip’ to scout and recruit new skaters. At first, he was stressing over the fact that there would be no one to run the beginners evening skating class after his skaters finished their daily training. Not to mention the fact that with competitions coming up, his skaters would be left without a coach. The older ones, such as Viktor, Mila, and Georgi, knew what to do without him there and were disciplined enough to practice on their own. However, Yuri still needed some guidance despite being one of the best skaters in the world. Viktor enthusiastically volunteered to take Yakov’s place as replacement coach while he was away. Yakov was hesitant at first but knew his oldest and best pupil wouldn’t let him down. Viktor had proved that to him long ago.

“Alright! Let’s get back to practice!” Viktor declared enthusiastically.

With one last eye roll, Yuri replied with a “Finally.”

“But you know, we still have a spare room at the apartment. The offer still stands if you-”

“Hell no!”

* * *

Back at the apartment, Yuuri finally stepped through the building’s doors. He checked the time on his phone and noticed it was two in the afternoon. Three more hours until Viktor came home. He made a quick stop by a trash can to dispose of his empty coffee cup, and then guided Makkachin towards the mail station. Switching the poodle’s doggie bag to the hand Yuuri was using to hold the leash, Yuuri took out the key Viktor had given him to unlock the small metal box. It was a good thing Makkachin never pulled or left his side. He approached the long wall with similar boxes, scanning them until he found the one he was looking for. The small box had the numbers 205 engraved on the cold metal surface right above the lock. Inserting the key and turning it to the left, he opened the small door with a low creak. He took the five envelopes out of the box and once again closed the door. The good thing about these mailboxes was that they automatically locked themselves once the door was closed.

“Come, Makka. Let’s go home,” he told the poodle and smiled. They walked towards the elevator and pressed the ‘up’ button. As he waited for the elevator to come down, he checked what had come in the mail. The rent bill had arrived, a letter from his parents back in japan, two credit card offers, and a……letter for Evgeni Ovechkin? Who? Last Yuuri checked, it was just Viktor and Makkachin who he was living with. Technically he also lived with Yurio since the teenager often stayed over. He’s never heard of someone named Evgeni Ovechkin. As the elevator doors opened, Yuuri noticed the address was different on the letter. Instead of reading ‘Apt. #205’ it read ‘Apt. #502’. The poor mail man probably mixed up the two addresses. He couldn’t really blame them. The numbers looked similar. As he stepped into the elevator and reached over to the number pad, he decided to deliver the letter to the proper apartment. He quickly pressed the button to the fifth floor. However, as soon as the elevator doors closed, he immediately regretted his decision. He looked at the poodle obliviously sitting next to him.

“Makkachin, what have I done? What if this Evgeni person thinks I stole their mail? I don’t know enough Russian to explain properly if he accuses me. MAKKA! I’m going to end up in jail because a person thought I stole their mail even though I didn’t but I won’t be able to explain because my Russian is still choppy!!! Ok I’m not doing this. Let’s go back to our floor and-”

_Ding!_

“- and of course we’re here,” he finished. Taking a deep breath, Yuuri and Makkachin stepped out. Yuuri steeled himself and told himself everything was going to be fine. All of his neighbors had been nice so far. Not to mention people were always patient with him whenever he had trouble speaking. There was nothing to worry about. He kept repeating these thoughts as he glanced around. If it was the same layout as his floor, then apartment 502 should be to his right. He started to walk in that direction, and to his relief, the numbers were decreasing.

 _“502, 502, 50- Ah, here it is”_ Yuuri stood in front of the door and took another deep breath, _“Well, there’s no turning back now.”_

Tightening his grip on Makkachin’s leash while still holding the doggie bag, he lifted his other fist with the letters in it and knocked on the door. However, as soon as he did, he heard a shout that sounded something similar to “I have to get the door! Bye!” in an angry tone. It sounded like the person behind the door was speaking to someone on the phone. What if he had interrupted an important conversation?

 _“Maybe I should have just gone home,”_ he thought, but it was already too late to ding dong ditch. The apartment door opened to reveal a man around Viktor’s height. However, he had dark hair and with green eyes. Yuuri silently gulped as he stared at the man.

The man, in return, stared at Yuuri. When he first opened his apartment door, the man didn’t know who to expect. He definitely was not expecting -

 _“An Angel,”_ he thought, _“Oh! The heavens must be smiling down on me after that horrific situation on the phone just now!”_

“Umm….” Yuuri trailed off, not knowing how to broach the topic as to why he was interrupting this man’s afternoon. Quickly shrugging off his awkwardness, he cleared his throat.

“H-hello. I, uh, I’m your neighbor from three stories down a-and came to return your mail. NOT that I took it or anything! It’s just that I think the post man might have mixed up our addresses and I didn’t realize this until I was already by the elevator so I just decided to bring this to you,” he said as he extended the letter towards its rightful owner. The man, however just kept staring at him. Oh God! Did he mess up his words? Did his accent get in the way of being understood? This is it. He was going to jail!

As if snapping out of a trance, the man smiled down at Yuuri and reached over to take the letter from him.

“Thank you very much,” he said and paused as he took in Yuuri’s appearance. Yuuri started to feel an uncomfortable silence as the man just kept staring. He didn’t know what to do, so he decided it was time to excuse himself. After all, he did what he came here to do. And that was to return the letter to the right person.

“Um-”

“I’ve never seen you around. Are you new here?” the man interrupted.

“Ah, yes. I just moved in about three months ago.”

“Welcome to the neighborhood! Name’s Evgeni Ovechkin,” he said extending a hand.

“I’m Yuuri Katsuki. Oh! And this is Makkachin,” replied Yuuri as he shook the man’s hand. Dropping the handshake, Evgeni’s eyes seemed to move down towards the floor where he noticed Makkachin sitting patiently next to Yuuri. Not noticing the poodle until now, he suppressed a groan.

 _"Ugh. Another dog. I cannot believe my new angel is a dog person! And where have I heard the name ‘Makkachin’ before?”_ He thought. However, he smiled at them and instead said, “It’s very nice to meet you Makkachin.”

The dog let out a woof as if the poodle could understand the man. He looked back up at Yuuri who seemed to be smiling at the interaction. Before he could wax poetry about that smile curing illnesses and bringing world peace, he decided it was best to return to his…little issue before Yuuri had knocked on the door.

“Well, thank you again for bringing my mail. Maybe we’ll see each other very soon.”

“Maybe,” Yuuri replied, relieved to be ending this awkward encounter. After a final goodbye and after Evgeni closed his door, Yuuri turned to Makkachin.

“Can we finally go home?”

Makkachin just let out a happy bark as a response. Chuckling, Yuuri guided them towards the elevator, got in, and pressed the second-floor button. After a short ride, the doors finally dinged, indicating his stop. He stepped out and walked the short distance towards his apartment, and to his surprise, he saw a certain blond teen standing in front of his door.

“Yurio!” he called out, “Have you been standing there long?” As soon as he approached the boy, Makkaching started yipping happily, tail wagging in the air as Yuuri looked to see what the commotion was. He smiled as his eyes landed on Yuri’s arms.

“I see you’ve brought Potya with you. Let’s head inside!”

Yuri followed silently behind Yuuri with Potya in his arms. As Yuuri released the poodle from his leash, Yuri plopped himself onto the couch, claiming his usual sitting spot, and letting his cat roam towards Makkachin’s dog bed. Yuuri just rolled his eyes fondly as he watched the young skater take out his phone. He was probably texting Otabek. In the corner of the room, he saw Makkachin and Potya cuddling each other as the feline groomed the happy poodle. He left the boy alone and headed into the kitchen to check what was in the refrigerator. It was already pretty late, and he knew Yuri would be hungry after practice. He hummed to himself as he took out some ingredients to prepare some food for the both of them. Noticing there was some things missing from the refrigerator, he pulled out his phone.

**< <Yuuri: **Would you mind stopping by the market and buying some milk and eggs? We’re out

 

As he was putting his phone on the counter, he remembered something else that was missing and sent another text to Viktor.

 

 **< <Yuuri:** And can you get some more juice boxes? Yurio’s here and he had Potya with him, which probably means he’s spending the night

 

Right before he put his phone down, he received a response.

 

 **> >Viktor:** Okay!!!♥♥♥♥♥

 

Yuuri smiled at his fiancé’s reply. The hearts were a little unnecessary in his opinion, but he secretly loved receiving them. As he took out pans to cook, he called out, “So what brings you here today Yurio?”

There was silence for a few seconds.

“I was hungry after practice and I didn’t want to cook,” was his reply. Yuuri had a feeling that wasn’t the reason since he brought his cat. However, he just decided to let it go.

“Ok, then, want to watch a movie after I finish cooking?”

“Whatever.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.”

“…..Aren’t you supposed to be resting your ankle, Katsudon?”

 _“Ah, that’s the reason,”_ Yuuri thought, “It’s just cooking. Besides, this is something fast and easy to make. I promise I won’t move around afterwards.” He just heard a grunt as a response. After the small discussion, Yuuri set to work.

Just as he promised, he finished in just a few minutes. Setting two plates, a glass of water, and their last juice box on the coffee table, he sat down next to the teen. Yurio locked his phone screen as soon as he saw Yuuri enter the living room with the food. He had to admit, the older skater’s cooking was delicious, and Viktor’s wasn’t half bad either. This was one of the reasons he spent so much time with the couple. There was good food, and frankly, they weren’t as annoying to hang around with as he initially thought. Plus, when they all went out on their days off, he would usually be treated to food by the older skaters. How anyone could pass up free ice cream is beyond him.

“So,” Yuuri said, snapping him out of his own thoughts, “What movie do you want to watch?”

“Dunno. Whatever’s fine.”

“How about…” Yuuri paused for a second as he browsed through the movie shelf, “Oh! You’ll love this one!”

“What is it?” Yuri asked as he watched Yuuri walk over to the DVD player to insert the disk.

Yuuri just smiled as he queued up the move, “You’ll see.”

He made his way over to the couch and sat next to Yurio, getting comfortable.

The move opened up with a top shot of a city landscape. The video quality didn’t look as high definition as newer movies, so Yurio guessed it must have been an older movie. As the words _A Disney Channel Original Movie_ came up on screen, upbeat music started to play.

_We can do anything_

_Just you and me baby, baby_

_Baby, baby, baby, baby_

_Wait and see_

The scene changed to a scene of a group of girls dancing on a small stage at a birthday party. When the title of the movie finally showed up, Yurio reached for the remote and paused the movie. He turned to Yuuri and raised an eyebrow.

“The Cheetah Girls?”

“It’s a classic! Phichit and I used to watch it when we roomed in college.”

Yurio just gave him a skeptical look. If this was a movie Yuuri and Phichit liked to watch, then it was definitely an older movie. He doubted he would enjoy it. Though he had to admit, the girls dancing on screen had great fashion sense and the name of the movie was well chosen. Yuuri just looked at him and gave a soft, amused laugh.

“Just give it a chance. I promise you’ll like it.”

He pressed play on the remote and resumed the movie. Yurio sighed. He might as well sit back and watch.

As the movie progressed, Yurio became more and more focused on the story line. He hated to admit it, and he would never openly admit it, but Katsudon was right. He was enjoying the movie, sometimes a little too much. There were even times when he would catch himself humming along to the songs. Yuuri, however, was openly singing along with them. Sometimes he would give little side commentaries like “Phichit and I used to learn the choreography to this on our free time” or “That hand shake was so hard to learn! But we got it eventually.”

There were even some times when Yurio got a little teary eyed. The scene when Chanel learned that Dorinda was a foster kid hit a little close to home.

 _“Next time I visit Moscow, I’m gonna give Grandpa an even bigger hug than usual,”_ he briefly thought. He really enjoyed watching how the movie portrayed different kinds of families; from foster families, to single parent households, to interracial parents.

 _“Kind of like Viktor and Yuuri,”_ he mused, but as soon as he had the thought, he shook it off.

The movie finally got to the climax, when the dog, Toto, got loose from it’s leash and ended up stuck in a construction hole. The cops and firemen stopped all traffic, there was a news crew present, and the power grid was shut off.

“All that fuss for a stupid dog? If it was a cat, it could have climbed out of there already” commented Yurio. Secretly though, he was hoping the dog would come out ok. Yuuri just rolled his eyes.

All in all, he was glad, Katsudon decided to play that movie. Once the credits started rolling, Yurio started thinking. Without noticing, he went more quiet than usual.

Yuuri noticed how still the atmosphere had gotten. Usually by the end of movies Yurio hadn’t watched before, he would give his opinion and comments on it. He turned towards the teen and took in his pensive face. He was curious as to what Yurio was thinking, but he’s sure he’ll find out eventually.

He was right. Once the movie finally stopped the credits, Yurio turned to him.

“Do you think Yakov will let me do [Cinderella](https://youtu.be/7aBnwzPJcKM)for my exhibition skate this coming season?”

Yuuri just smiled knowingly.

Yurio glared, “What are you smiling at?”

“Nothing,” he responded, “You should, ask him once he comes back from his business trip. I’m sure Yakov will let you, though. Maybe Viktor can even choreograph it for you. He loves this move after all. But for now…,” Yuuri held his index finger up with a pause, “Wanna learn the dance moves?”

“Hell yeah!”

****

Later into the night after Viktor had gotten home, eaten dinner, and he and Yuuri were getting ready for bed, he noticed Makkachin wasn’t in the room like the old poodle usually was.

“Where’s Makkachin?” asked Viktor as he climbed into bed next to Yuuri.

“Oh, I think I saw Yurio sneaking him into his room. He’s been strangely attached to him all day. Earlier he asked me if he could take Makka for his after- dinner walk too,” answered Yuuri.

“Huh, I thought that was weird of him to volunteer. He’s never done that before. I wonder what’s gotten into him.”

As they settled into bed and turned of their bedside lamps, Yuuri remembered the movie and smiled.

* * *

Back in the guest room, Yurio was comfortably laying on his side with Makkachin stretched out next to him taking up half of the bed and Potya curled up at the foot of the bed.

“Don’t worry Makkachin,” he whispered as he sleepily petted the poodle, “Potya and I will make sure you never fall into any construction holes during your walks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to show, Yuuri and Yurio bonding so I had them watch the Cheetah Girls movie for obvious reasons! And if there are readers who are too young to remember or don't know the movie, I suggest you watch it if you're curious! And if you HAVE seen the movie, the reason I decided for Yurio to choose Cinderella is because of the whole Russian Fairy nickname and the theme of the song. Also, even though Yurio is pretty mature in the series, he is still a young teen so I just wanted to show his softer, kid side towards the end with Makkachin!
> 
> And don't worry! I haven't forgotten about our dear neighbor Evgeni Ovechkin ;) Yes, I got two hockey players and merged their names.


	2. A Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yurio meets the neighbor and decides he doesn't like him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter is finally out! Sorry for the long wait, but now you get to see what happens when Yurio meets Evgeni. Sorry for any grammar/ spelling errors. I edit this on my own and I may have missed some things after staring at the same document for a long time!

Being injured was the worst. Even if it was a small injury, Yuuri had promised Viktor that he wouldn’t do any strenuous activities. This meant that he always had extra free time. Free time that he wasn’t used to having. He had already walked Makkachin, washed the few dishes left over from breakfast, and picked up the living room. At first, he had imagined moving in with Viktor would be like how he roomed with Phichit. Being college students and being athletes with endless practice meant that sometimes their dorm, and later their apartment, was a mess at least 50% of the time. With Viktor, and no school granted, they lived in a much cleaner apartment. He had even checked his social media multiple times and even played his DS. The only thing that was his saving grace at the moment was Yurio.

After their movie watching the previous day, he promised to teach the younger skater the choreography to Cinderella. It wasn’t too complicated, but with his injured ankle, all he could really do was show him how to do it slowly, correct his posture, and give the occasional pointers. The younger boy was a fast learner. He had already learned the first verse in the span of a couple hours.

Yuuri checked the time on his phone and gave a sigh. It was currently 12:30pm. He had another two hours of boredom left. As he put down his phone and reached out for the remote control, he heard a knock on the door. From his doggie bed, Makkachin woke up from his nap and gave a woof as if saying “There’s someone at the door.” Picking up his phone again, he checked the time once more.

 _“Yup, it’s too early for Yurio to be here.”_ As he stood to get the door, he glanced back at Makkachin and thought, _“He seems calm so it must not be someone dangerous.”_

After reaching the door, he unlocked the bolts and opened it. In front of his apartment entrance was someone he was not expecting to see any time soon. It was the neighbor from yesterday’s ‘mail incident’ as he called it. What was his name again? Evgeni Ovichi…Ovachenki..Ovach..Ovechkin!

“Hello!” the man greeted excitedly, and effectively snapping Yuuri out of his surprise.

“Hi, um…” Yuuri replied intelligently, apparently still not over the shock of seeing his neighbor at his front step.

“Um, sorry if I was interrupting your evening,” he began.

 _“I was literally doing nothing so…”_ Yuuri thought.

“I just wanted to stop by before I have to got to practice to bring you this,” Evgeni explained as he slightly lifted and presented a plate of cookies covered in plastic wrap. Yuuri reached out to take the plate. He took a look at the cookies and they looked like they were homemade. There was a bit of condensation on the plastic wrap from the steam they must have let out. Even the bottom of the plate still felt warm and the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted from it.

“Thank you, but… what is this for?” he asked.

“I wanted to bring you a ‘welcome to the neighborhood’ gift as well as a ‘thank you’ gift”

“‘Thank you’ gift?”, Yuuri asked, but as soon as he asked, it hit him, “Oh! For the mail? Don’t worry about it! You didn’t have to go through all this trouble.”

“Oh, but I did! That letter you delivered to me was a very important letter from my ballet troupe. If I hadn’t received it, I would have risked missing out on auditions for some very important roles. I simply had to thank you for it!”

“You dance ballet?” Yuuri asked excitedly. As if on cue, Evgeni’s face flushed.

 _“His eyes sparkle like the twinkling stars on a clear summer night. Oh, how luck am I to witness this beautiful creation of nature,”_ he swooned.

“Yes I do!” he proclaimed proudly.

At this, Yuuri gave a wide grin. Maybe his neighbor wasn’t so bad. Maybe this was Yuuri’s chance to finally form a friendship with someone who wasn’t in their skating circle. His first friendship in Russia that he made on his own! With this thought, Yuuri asked before he could feel embarrassed, “Would you like to come in and share these cookies with me?”

Evgeni had to use all of his self-control to not faint right in front of Yuuri. It felt as if an arrow pierced him right through the heart.

_“My angel is asking me to join him in his own home. The gods must be smiling down on me. Ah, I must be the luckiest man alive!”_

He must have been silent for too long because the smile Yuuri had on had started to slip.

“Or not. You, just told me you came before your practice. Sorry! Forget I said anything,” he panicked. Of course he had to go and embarrass himself and invite his potential new friend to hang out right after he mentioned that he was already busy!

“No, no! I would love to! I still have a couple hours left before I have to get going!” Evgeni quickly answered. This gave Yuuri hope as his smile came back and stepped aside to let his new friend in.

* * *

 

Yurio, walked up the apartment he was very familiar with by now. He decided not to stay the night that day so he didn’t pick up Potya from his own apartment. Sometimes he wondered if he should agree to Viktor’s and Yuuri’s offer of moving in with them, but he quickly decided against it after imagining how lovey dovey they must act in their own home. Just as he was about to knock, he heard voices talking from the inside. One was clearly Katsudon, but the other? It didn’t sound familiar. He knocked on the door, and the sound interrupted the voices from the other side. Katsudon, as expected, was the one who greeted him at the door.

“Hi Yurio. Come on in.”

Without any greeting, Yurio, stepped inside the cozy apartment. However, he froze when he saw an unfamiliar person.

Without any filter, Yurio asked, “Who’s the asshole?”

“Yurio, you can’t say that to a guest!” Yuuri chastised him.

“Why not? I say that to JJ all the time.”

“Yes but that’s JJ. This is Evgeni, our neighbor from three stories up. Evgeni, this is Yuri or Yurio as we like to call him. Our names sound kind of similar,” he introduced.

The ballet dancer stood up and offered the younger boy a hand shake, “A pleasure.”

Yurio, however, just ignored him and sat down on his favorite spot. He took out his phone and went on Instagram to check what had been posted while he was at practice.

Yuuri immediately turned to his neighbor with an exasperated eye roll to the ceiling.

“Sorry, he’s not the friendliest. Give him time, he’ll warm up to you.”

“No I won’t,” came a short response.

“Hush you.”

Evgeni, just opted to ignore the boy.

“No worries. I’m sure being a teenager is hard these days. But anyway! What were saying about Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty?”

“Right, I was saying that the way they managed to find an explanation as to how the price survived those hundred years of the curse was well thought out!”

“It was an absolutely genius way to fill in that plot hole in the story! Why, when I played the role of the prince in our adaptation, it always confused me why her true love would suddenly show up in the future.”

“Exactly! That’s something that has always bothered me from the story. Not to mention the way it was made into a gothic romance is a concept I have never seen been used before for this ballet.”

The two kept on talking about the ballet with such enthusiasm that Yurio started to listen in. However, he was keeping a close eye on this neighbor of theirs. He noticed he sat a little too close to Yuuri. This made the teen wary. Didn’t the guy know the meaning of personal space? Maybe it was just a thing all adults did. Viktor certainly didn’t know the meaning of personal space either. This wasn’t the only thing though that made the teen prickly. The guy would sometimes casually touch Yuuri’s hand when he suddenly ‘thought of something’. He would also get this day dream look in his eyes whenever Yuuri talked. Wait.

_“No fucking way! This guy is trying to make a move on Katsudon. Well, he’d be pretty pathetic if he thinks he has a shot with him. I mean, the golden ring is pretty hard to miss.”_

With this thought in mind, he went back to his phone. However, a phone started to vibrate on the coffee table. Glancing up, he noticed it was Yuuri’s.

“Katsudon, you have a call,” he nodded over to the phone on the table.

“Ah, thanks Yurio,” he said and then turned to Evgeni, “Sorry, I have to take this. Excuse me.” He picked up the phone and answered to whoever was calling on the other line as he moved to his room to take the call.

Left alone with the neighbor, there was nothing to fill the silence. Evgeni gave a lovestruck sigh. Yurio just looked at him with pity. Maybe now was a good time to tell him Kadsudon wasn’t interested.

“You know you don’t have a shot, right?” asked Yurio without tearing his eyes from his phone. Evgeni, shocked because the teen hadn’t spoken a word to him after their initial greetings, turned to stare at him. Yuri, or Yurio he learned, hadn’t exactly made a great first impression on him. How did his precious angel know this bratty child? More importantly, why did this brat share his beauty’s precious name? It was an outrage! None the less, the statement confused him.

“What do you mean,” he asked.

“I mean that Katsudon isn’t interested. If anything, he just thinks you two are friends.”

Evgeni, started to laugh at this statement. HIM? Just a friend? Preposterous! Yuuri always gave him a beautiful smile, he invited him into his home on their second meeting, he talked to Evgeni about ballet as if it was the greatest art form in the world! If that meant that Yuuri wasn’t interested, then he might as well decline all the roles he had been offered. After his laughter died down, he took a long look at Yurio.

“Oh,” he finally said, “Are you jealous that I might steal him from you? I’m sure you were his first friend since he came to Russia, but I don’t think you should keep him all to yourself. Or.…do you perhaps have a little crush on him?” he added smugly.

Yurio scowled, “I _perhaps_ am telling you to back off. Trust me, the one that’s going to end up heart broken is you, not me.”

“How amusing! You have a puppy dog love! That is quite adorable!”

“I’m telling you I don’t!”

“The fact that you’re defending yourself tells me otherwise.”

“I’m defending myself because it isn’t true, shithead!”

“My, my! You have quite a potty mouth for someone so young. Anyway, I’m sure your little crush is temporary. First crushes usually are. Besides, when Yuuri and I are together I promise I won’t completely steal him from you,” Evgeni kept teasing.

Yurio was considering the possibility of murder at that point. He had briefly wondered if Yuuri and Viktor would help him hide the body. Luckily for both of them, Yuuri came back into the living room after talking to the other person on the phone, probably Viktor.

“Sorry for taking so long,” he said as he noticed Yurio’s glare towards Evgeni,” Is everything ok?”

“Everything’s perfect. I just had a riveting talk with little Yurio here,” Evgeni answered with a smile aimed at Yurio while getting up from his seat.

“Unfortunately, I must go. My practice starts in an hour and I have to be there for prep,” he continues.

“Oh, how unfortunate. I was having such a fun time,” Yuuri stated as he walked his new friend to the door.

 _“Alas, so was I. But until our next meeting my darling,”_ the ballet dancer thought.

“I’m sure we’ll have other times to enjoy each other’s company,” he instead replied. With one last smile from Yuuri, they said their goodbyes.

After closing the door, Yuuri found his young companion staring at him with a deadpan look.

“What’s that look for?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Nothing. I’m hungry. Do you have lunch?”

“I don’t but you can help me make something. Afterwards we can continue learning that choreography. I know that’s the real reason you’re here.”

Yurio blushed and grumbled something in Russian as he followed the older skater to the kitchen. On the counter, he spotted a plate of cookies. Strange, the apartment didn’t smell like somebody had baked recently. Yuuri noticed him staring at the plate and offered one. Slowly and graciously, Yurio grabbed one of the cookies and took a bite. It was sweet and chocolaty, and the whole thing was soft but chewy enough to give it that amazing consistency that all cookies should have.

“They’re good, aren’t they? Evgeni brought them over earlier as a welcoming gift,” Yuuri stated as he started to take ingredients out from the refrigerator. However, Yurio nearly spat the cookie out. He stared at the half-eaten pastry as if it had murdered his precious Potya.

 _“Oh, no! This is worse than I thought. You don’t just bring home baked goods to someone you just met! I have to do something before that asshole of a neighbor makes Katsudon and the old man divorce!”_ he thought with a panic and urgency he didn’t know he had.

* * *

 

At practice the next day, Yurio was thinking of ways to keep the two idiots together. He couldn’t believe he was doing this, but he couldn’t imagine the two not together. It was impossible! The only plan he could think of was for Viktor to seduce Katsudon all over again. Which shouldn’t be all that hard, but how could he put this plan into action without both of them finding out what was going on? While working on his quads, he had a idea. What if Viktor got Yuuri presents? Mushy, annoyingly gross couples did that, right? The only problem was figuring out a present. He thought and thought and thought, but by his break time, he couldn’t think of anything. He hated to admit it, but he needed help. But who could he ask? Mila would just tease him endlessly and Georgi wouldn’t be able to keep a secret when it came to something romantic. At his wits end, he took out his phone and texted the only sane and trustworthy person he knew.

 **< <Yuri**: OTABEK I HAVE AN EMERGENCY

 

Within a minute or so, he got a response.

 

 **> >Otabek:** Are you hurt?! Are you ok?

 **< <Yuri:** I’m ok, but that’s not important right now

 **< <Yuri:** It’s Viktor and Katsudon

 **< <Yuri:** What would you give a person to show them that you love them

 **> >Otabek:** You want to show Viktor and Yuuri that you love them?

 **< <Yuri:** NO!! Ew, I don’t care about them

 **< <Yuri:** But seriously what would you give them

 **> >Otabek:** Hold on. I think I’m missing some information. Why do you want to get Viktor and Yuuri a present?

 **< <Yuri:** No no the present isn’t from me. It’s from Viktor to Katsudon

 **> >Otabek:** Ok, now I’m even more confused. Start at the beginning.

 **< < Yuri:** So there’s this neighbor in their apartment that took a liking to Kasudon and APPARENTLY doesn’t know that he’s engaged to Viktor and now he wants to date Katsudon and Katsudon is SO oblivious that he thinks the guy is just being a friendly neighbor!!! He brought him some homemade cookies as a ‘welcome gift.’ Cookies!! Who does that??!!

 **> >Otabek:** A lot of people do. It’s a normal thing.

 **< <Yuri:** AND from what I heard he does ballet!! And guess what Katsudon loves besides figure skating, Makka, and Viktor? FREAKEN BALLET

 **> >Otabek:** Since when did you start calling their dog by his name?

 **< <Yuri:** NOT IMPORTANT

 **> >Otabek:** Sorry, off topic. I think I understand the situation now. But maybe the guy isn’t so bad?

 **< <Yurio:** He’s worse than JJ!!!!

 **> >Otabek:** Yikes. Coming from you, that’s bad. Hold on, I think I have an idea.

 

Yurio waited while Otabek did what he set out to do. Soon though, a message with a link popped up.

 

 **> >Otabek:** _Link_

 **> >Otabek:** I heard these are pretty popular.

 

Yurio clicked on the link and was faced with the homepage of a flower shop. In fact, it was the homepage of the flower shop that was right next to the bakery near Yuuri’s and Viktor’s apartment. How did Otabek know this shop was in their area? He must be magic. Looking at the image of the bouquet presented, he smiled. This would definitely work. It was an image of your typical bouquet of flowers in a basket. What was atypical, however, was the center of the basket. The flowers were arranged in a way that was shaped like a puppy. Dare he say it, it was the cutest thing he’s seen in a while. He clicked back to the messaging app to reply back to Otabek.

 

 **< <Yuri:** You are a genius

 

Switching again to the flower shop homepage, he swiped through the different designs. He had to admit, these bouquets were pretty impressive. He can totally picture Viktor buying this.

“What’s that?” Viktor asked while peaking over his shoulder. Not expecting the older skater to pop up out of nowhere, the sudden question startled Yurio.

“I, uh, Otabek was just showing me this new bouquet design that’s popular. Apparently, it comes in the shape of dogs,” Yurio answered while trying to sound as nonchalant about it as he can and _not_ like he trying to save Viktor’s engagement. Tilting his phone at a better angle, he showed Viktor the picture of the puppy bouquet and Viktor let out a gasp.

“Oh, it’s so cute!! I bet Yuuri would love it!”

Yurio tried to hide a smirk at this comment. His confidence in this plan was rising with each of Viktor’s coos. As always, Otabek had great ideas.

“Then buy it for him. You can order online,” he said offhandedly.

“I think I will!” Viktor said happily. Yurio proceeded to hand his phone over to Viktor so he can type in his credit card information, but just before he hit the purchase button, Viktor’s face dropped. This did not look like a good sign.

“What?” Yurio asked.

Viktor reluctantly gave the phone back to its proper owner and answered, “The store closes at 5 and I wouldn’t be able to get there in time. After I’m done with the rink it would take at least 30 minutes. And they don’t deliver.”

The older skater gave a dejected sound and Yurio didn’t like the sound of it. He sounded like he was giving up.

“I guess I’ll just have to get it for him after this week is over.”

Yurio did not like that plan. Viktor had to get that bouquet for Katsudon! Today! If not, then that Ovechkin guy could steal him right from under Viktor’s nose!  No. He would _not_ let that happen. But he didn’t want to let the stupid couple know he was trying to help them. But he really didn’t like Ovechkin. After some internal arguing with himself, he mentally heaved a groan.

Swallowing his pride, he said, “I can pick it up from the flower shop.”

“I don’t want to inconvenience you Yurio.”

“You inconvenience me every day. Plus I offered. Besides, Katsudon was teaching me some, um… new ballet moves, so I’m heading to your place anyway.”

“You’re making my Yuuri move around with an injured ankle?!”

“Calm down old man. He’s just observing and fixing my form.”

Viktor’s worry didn’t ease at that, but he knew that Yuuri promised him he would take care of the injury. Yuuri always kept his promises. Besides, Yurio has never lied to him in the past so he figured he could trust the younger skater’s words. Taking the phone back, he typed into the ‘comments’ box that Yurio was going to be the one picking up the bouquet and pressed the ‘purchase button.’

“It’s done! My Yuuri will be so surprised! Maybe I can buy him one every week,” he wondered out loud.

Yurio huffed, “Whatever. It’s your money.”

Speaking of money, when he took a look at the screen, he saw that Viktor didn’t notice the notification asking if he wanted to save his credit card information on Yurio’s phone. Before he could scold the older man for being careless, he noticed Viktor had already moved to continue his own practice. Groaning in frustration, he moved his finger to press the ‘No’ button but hesitated for a second. After all, it wasn’t his fault if Viktor didn’t notice the notification. And it wasn’t his fault if he ‘accidentally’ pressed the ‘Yes’ button. But if it was, he wouldn’t tell anyone. Besides, this could come in handy in the future.

* * *

 

After practice, Yurio made his way to the flower shop.  The staff was very nice. He arrived and stated that he was there to pick up an order for Viktor. After looking it up in the system, the lady confirmed that his purchase was ready and walked to the back to retrieve it for him. When she came back, she printed a receipt for him and handed Yuri the bouquet along with a small puppy plushie. Confused, Yurio asked about it. The florist just said that with each purchase of a puppy bouquet the person also received a stuffed animal. Yurio just smiled and thanked her. This could not have been more perfect. Two gifts for Katsudon from Viktor! That neighbor of theirs would have to try a lot harder to try and break them up.

After getting to the apartment, Yuuri’s reaction was exactly what he was hoping to see. When Yuuri opened the door, the first thing that came out of his mouth was a delighted and surprised gasp.

“Yurio what..?” he trailed off.

“Can I come in or am I going to stand outside all day?”

“Sorry, sorry, come in,” he said while stepping aside, “But what is this?”

“Are you blind? It’s a bouquet of flowers. Viktor found out about these mutt shaped arrangements and bought one for you. He inconvenienced me once again and asked me to pick it up after practice because they didn’t deliver. Seriously, the nerve of that guy to ask me and play delivery boy.”

Yuuri took the bouquet reverently and gave a soft smile. He then noticed the plush dog in Yurio’s arms.

“What about that?”

As if he forgot, Yurio held it out and gave it to Yuuri.

“Oh, the florist said it came free with each bouquet.”

Yuuri just took both presents and carefully put them on the coffee table and sat down afterwards. He sniffed the flowers and gently started to caress the petals. The look on his face was of someone who was falling in love more and more as the days went by. For Yuuri, that might have been true. Yurio just flopped down on the couch and went on his phone while Yuuri admired his presents from Viktor. He felt satisfied that his plan was working. Immediately, he switched to his texts to message Otabek.

 

 **< <Yurio:** It worked!! Katsudon looks as if that creepy perverted angel just shot him with an arrow

 **> >Otabek: **You mean Cupid?

 **< <Yurio:** Yeah that guy

 **> >Otabek:** Well, I’m glad it worked

 

As Yurio typed back, Yuuri suddenly gave another gasp. This time it sounded panicked. Yurio turned to look at the other skater with curiosity.

“Why did Viktor send me this?”

Now Yurio was really confused. Did Yuuri not like the bouquet? He must have, right? After all, he liked dogs and his earlier reaction showed that he really liked it. Plus it was from Viktor, his _fiancé._ Why wouldn’t he like it?

“What do you mean ‘why’? I don’t know if you’ve noticed but he’s head over heels for you.”

“No, no, I mean _why_? It’s not my birthday and Valentines Day already passed,” he gasped again, “Did I forget our anniversary?!”

“Calm down. It hasn’t been a full year yet….or December. You’re worrying too much. He probably just got you something because he felt like it. He’s disgustingly romantic that way.”

Yuuri breathed deeply and calmed down. Yurio was right. It was just a romantic gesture from Viktor. After all, it wasn’t the first time he’s surprised Yuuri with a present. Standing up with the bouquet in his arms, he looked for a spot to place it. Satisfied, he turned to Yurio and asked him what he wanted for lunch. The easy routine the two had fallen into in the past three days became a comfort for Yuuri. He still wondered about the present but decided it was better left for when Viktor arrived. For now, he walked into the kitchen with Yurio right behind him.

****

“So,” Viktor started as both he and Yuuri laid down on their bed getting ready to sleep, “I heard from Yurio that there was a man he’s never seen before in the apartment with you?”

“Did he now? I did’t think he was that interested in our guest. He was right though. He brought those cookies on the table as a welcoming gift.”

“Which were delicious by the way.”

“Then we kind of just started talking, mostly about Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty. Viktor, he’s a ballet dancer! It was so fun talking about ballet with someone other than Yurio!”

As soon as Yuuri finished his retelling of the afternoon, Viktor sat up without warning.

“Wait, Yuuri….don’t tell me…” he trailed off, but as sudden as he stood up a smile grew on his face, “Did you make a new friend?! Here? On your own?”

Yuuri sat up as well with a matching smile of his own and a nod. At the confirmation, Viktor hugged his fiancé and gave him a loving kiss on his lips. Yuuri hugged him back and sighed into the kiss.

Pulling back to look at Yuuri, Viktor said with a soft voice, “I know how anxious you’ve been about adjusting to a new country and meeting new people. I’m so proud of you darling. Maybe after this week is over we can invite him for dinner?”

Giving a kiss in return, Yuuri replied, “I would love that.”

They settled back down and, with matching happiness, they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty is an amazing ballet! You guys should definitely check it out! I used it because its one of the only two ballets I've seen (on PBS, not live). Anyway, I hope you guys liked this! Please leave a comment if you'd like! It would make me ridiculously happy!!!
> 
> Edit: The puppy bouquet are actually real. If you google them you'll see how cute they are!


	3. Sweet Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yurio decides that chocolate is the next best gift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long wait! I had a little trouble writing this chapter so its a bit short but never the less I hope you enjoy it!!

Thursday rolled around, which meant the end of the week was finally coming. Yurio knew that this was going to be the longest week of his life. With Yakov gone, Viktor temporarily coaching him, and Yuuri out of action he knew it was going to drag on. Unfortunately, it seemed like the universe hated him because now he had Yuuri and Viktor’s neighbor to deal with. He knew that jerk wasn’t going to give up even if he found out about the puppy shaped bouquet. He needed to come up with a game plan just in case Evgeni tried getting Yuuri another gift.

During his ten-minute break, he was texting Otabek about his current worry.

**< <Yurio: **Idiots like him won’t give up so easily

**> > Otabek:** Aren’t you being a little paranoid about all this?

**< < Yurio:** BEKA THIS IS A MATTER OF LIFE LOVE AND DIVORCE

**< < Yurio:** GODDAMIT I’M SOUNDING LIKE GEORGI

**< <Yurio:** FORGET I SAID ANYTHING

**> > Otabek:** Why don’t you just get Viktor to get Yuuri another present?

**< < Yurio:** Like what? We already tried the flowers

**> > Otabek:** What about chocolate?

**< < Yurio:** That’s actually not a bad idea. The little urchins are conveniently selling chocolate to help fund the skating club for new equipment

**< < Yurio:** Crap I forgot I’m out of cash at the moment

**> > Otabek:** Just borrow some from Viktor.

**< < Yurio:** I am not going to degrade myself and ask the old geezer for money

**> >Otabek:** Weren’t you the one who used his credit card to buy that panther sweater online?

**< < Yurio:** WE DO NOT TALK ABOUT THAT

Otabek didn’t respond, though Yurio knew he saw the text. He could feel the deadpan look from his stoic friend just from the silence itself.

“Yurio, break’s over!” Viktor informed him from the ice.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m coming,” he said as he put away the phone and moved to enter the rink again.

They spent the next half hour working on Yurio’s step sequences. Over and over, Viktor made him repeat it until the fluidity started to become muscle memory. Although he expected the week to drag on, he found that having Viktor as his temporary full-time coach wasn’t so bad. They were productive, which actually made the day go by faster. Next thing he knew, it was the end of practice. When dismissed, he made his way to the locker room to change. The whole time he was debating whether to ask Viktor for money.

Walking out, he heard the voices of children inside the rink talking about their chocolate sales.

“Lucky,” he heard one of them say, “You guys finished selling already, and I still have four boxes left. Everyone already bought some and they don’t want anymore. I’m never going to finish by the due date.”

Remembering the time he too had to sell the chocolates himself, he felt a bit of sympathy for the younger boy. Making up his mind, he walked up to Viktor who was on his phone. Having a twenty-minute break in between Yurio’s coaching and teaching the kids meant he only had a few minutes to rest and talk to Yuuri.

As soon as Viktor felt the younger skater’s presence, he gave him his full attention.

“I thought you were going home already.”

“I’m not. I’m heading to your place.”

“Let me guess, for food?”

“Duh.”

Viktor chuckled at the obvious lie, but he let it slide.

“Then what can I do for you? You’re usually gone by now.”

“I need to 1,307₽, but I’m out of cash at the moment.”

Viktor just gave him a puzzled look, “For what?”

“Chocolate.”

Viktor’s confusion just grew. Why would Yurio need that much money if he only wanted chocolate? Besides, he could use his own card at the store. As he thought about it, the murmurs of the younger kids reached his ears. Realization came to him as he let a smile grow on his face. But why 1,307₽? Each box only cost 327₽. Regardless, he smiled at Yurio’s secret reason.

“Wallet’s in the side pocket of my gym bag inside my locker,” he just said as he turned to store his phone in his own jacket lying on the bench. Before he could say anything else, the young skater was already making his way back towards the locker room with a mumbled ‘thanks’ tumbling out of his lips.

 

* * *

 

Once he bought the chocolates, Yurio made his way to Viktor and Yuuri’s home. Excited at the prospect of one-upping Evgeni, he walked just a tiny bit faster towards the apartment. He quickly made his way to the elevators and punched the button for the second floor. Inside, he held on tight to his gym bag, making sure the four chocolate boxes he had bought were still in one piece. He was originally going to buy one, but he figured he could keep one while leaving two for Viktor and Yuuri. The last one he would save for Yakov. His old coach acted like eating candy was only for children, but it was no secret that he had a sweet tooth.

As soon as the elevator doors opened on the couple’s floor, he found Evgeni waiting to go down. Yurio immediately scowled at the man. Instead of stepping in and leaving, the older man decided to wait for the next elevator in order to strike up a conversation with the teen.

“Well, if it isn’t little Yurio,” he said with a smug tone.

“Don’t call me that,” he replied as calmly as he could. Yurio started to walk away when he heard the older man continue talking.

“Wait, wait. Where are you going?”

“Where the fuck do you think, genius?”

Evgeni shrugged and raised his hands in a placating manner.

“No need for sarcasm. I was just trying to have a friendly conversation. And I see you still haven’t worked on that potty mouth of yours. What would my darling Yuuri say if he heard you right now? Honestly, how did you two become friends in the first place?”

“Doesn’t matter what the _fuck_ he’d say. I can say whatever the _fuck_ I want. He’s not my _fucking_ mom,” Yurio said. Evgeni just kept smirking at the obvious emphasis on the word ‘fuck’.

“Ah, teenage rebellions at its finest,” he said as the ding of the elevator rang indicating the arrival of it.

“Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I must depart. I’ll see you later little Yurio,” he said as he stepped into the elevator.

Yurio was absolutely seething with irritation by the time the elevator doors closed. God, that guy was annoying. With a huff, he finally turned to made his way to the apartment.

As he waited for the door to open after knocking, he shifted his bag to a more comfortable position. What was taking Katsudon so long? He knew his ankle was injured, but he’s seen the older skater walk much faster in the past couple of days. He groaned in irritation.

_“I should just kick the door down.”_

Fortunately, he didn’t get the chance to put that plan into motion. With the click of the lock, Yuuri finally opened the door.

“Oh, Yurio! Come on in. I didn’t think you’d be coming by today,” Yuuri said as Yurio entered the house and closed the door behind them.

“I said I’d come.”

“I know, but you took longer than you usually do.”

“I had to stay a little longer at the rink.”

“Did Viktor make you practice longer than usual?”

“No, I just had to do stuff.”

In actuality, buying the chocolates took a little longer than expected. The younger skaters were shocked when Yuri Plisetsky, Grand Prix Final Gold Medalist, walked up to them and asked if he could buy some chocolates. Needless to say, he got held up by eager questions. Not to mention the little conversation he had with Evgeni held him up even more.

“Alright, well, did you want some lunch before we get to your practice?”

“Actually, can we just watch something today? Stupid Viktor made me practice step sequences all day and ran me ragged.”

“Sure, whatever you want. You can pick what to watch and set it up while I get our food,” Yuuri stated. He made no arguments about practice with the teen. As a fellow athlete, he knew that understanding your body well enough to tell if it needed rest is just as important as the practice itself. Yuuri trusted that the young skater knew this too and didn’t push. In fact, he was happy that the teen confided in him enough to say no to him. With a smile, Yuuri made his way to the kitchen.

Placing his gym bag on the couch, Yurio unzipped the bag to take out the two boxes of chocolate. As he placed them on the coffee table, a medium sized box caught his attention. It was wrapped with a ribbon and the white front had the word _Richart_ along with something he assumed was French. Right above the letters, it had a drawing of a person’s profile looking up while holding something small towards its lips. Picking up the box, he started to inspect it. Right before he could open it however, Yuuri came back with two plates of food.

“Oh, you found the chocolates! I was going to offer you some once you got here.”

“Where did you get these? They weren’t here yesterday.”

“Oh! Evgeni stopped by before his practice. He said that it was a gift from a fan but since he tends to receive so many boxes of chocolate, he gives some of them to his neighbors. Isn’t that nice of him? Though, I felt a little bad because I remember Chris telling me a while ago that this brand is pretty pricey. I can understand why though!”

_“‘A gift from a fan’, sure. I bet he bought these himself,”_ Yurio thought.

Taking the chocolates out of Yurio’s hands, Yuuri opened the box.

“You’ve got to look at them! They kind of look like a painting or something!”

Feeling like a lead weight dropped into his stomach, Yurio took a look inside the box.

“Go on, take one,” Yuuri urged as he saw the teen’s hesitation.

Unable to resist the temptation of the beautifully colored chocolates, Yurio picked up one of the small circles. He had to admit, Katsudon was right. The chocolates were like a painting. The one he had picked up had a simple design on it. Simple, but beautiful. White circles, both outlines and fully colored, overlapped pink ink blotch- like circles. However, the design did not prepare him for the burst of flavor the little chocolate circle contained. As soon as he bit it, his tongue was assaulted with the taste of raspberry with a hint of peppermint and vanilla. The chocolate itself was dark chocolate, which he usually was not a big fan of, but it paired well with the sweetness of the velvety raspberry ganache.

As much as he hated to admit it, Evgeni had good taste in chocolate. Unlike the small 327₽ milk chocolates he bought, these chocolates were much more impressive in both flavor and design. It was obvious which chocolates Katsudon was going to prefer. He mentally cursed Evgeni for winning this round.

Right at that moment, Yuuri picked up one of the fundraising chocolate boxes, noticing them at last.

“What’s this? More chocolate?” he asked as he opened the box and took one of the small squares out. Yurio froze as Yuuri popped it into his mouth, already dreading the obvious rejection.

“Mmm, these are so good! Are these the ones that the youth club are selling?” Yuuri stated through a mouth half full of chocolate.

“Y-yeah. Viktor wanted to get you some chocolate because he, uh, he missed you or something,” Yurio lied, cringing at how awkwardly the lie came out. Katsudon’s reaction had caught him off guard.

“He puts me on a diet, yet he buys me chocolate. Sometimes I don’t know what goes on in that man’s head.”

Crap! Yurio forgot about that detail.

“Though, it’s sweet of him to support the club and the kids. Besides, I’m glad he remembered these are my favorite,” Yuuri continued.

“Wait, your favorite?”

“Of course! I haven’t been able to find a better chocolate than this since I came to Russia!”

Yurio stood there taking in all of this information. Now he understood what the old man meant when he said that Katsudon is always surprising him. He watched as Katsudon took another small square and ate it. His smile was even bigger than when he was offering the _Richart_ chocolate. That in itself told Yurio that maybe he was wrong. Evgeni did not win this round after all.

Looking over at the older skater, he saw that Yuuri took a third chocolate square out of the box.

Noticing the younger boy’s stare, Yuuri sheepishly smiled.

“Don’t tell Viktor,” he said and popped the piece in his mouth.

With a scheming smile Yurio reached over into the _Richart_ box, took one of the chocolates, and took a bite, “I won’t if you won’t.”

With their little secret under wraps, they sat down to enjoy their actual lunch and watch the movie Yurio had chosen. It was no surprise he chose _The Cheetah Girls 2_.

 

* * *

 

Viktor stood by the light switch of their room waiting for Makkachin to hop onto their bed in order to turn in for the night. Yuuri was already laying comfortingly on the bed waiting for Viktor.

As soon as the lights were off, Viktor made his way to the bed with the soft light of the bed side lamp to guide his way. As soon as he got into the covers, he felt the warm hand of his fiancé turning his head and meeting his lips in a soft kiss.

Yuuri smiled sweetly at the startled expression Viktor had.

“Thanks for the chocolates.”

“The- the chocolates?”

“Yeah, the ones Yurio brought over. It was nice of you to help out the younger kids.”

Viktor thought it over.

“Oh! Right! Not a problem, love,” he replied and returned the kiss.

Viktor figured Yurio told Yuuri about the money he borrowed. He remembered that right before the lesson, the kids asked if he could thank Yurio again for them. They told Viktor that the younger skater bought the remaining 4 boxes of chocolate one of the kids was struggling to sell. It was at that instant that Viktor figured out why Yurio needed 1,307₽. Viktor knew he was a good kid deep down. It was even cute at times, but he didn’t let the young skater know or else Viktor would get another kick on the back. He figured that at his age he didn’t need back pains.

Turning off everything, the couple cuddled up with each other and Makkachin and settled in for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1,307₽ is roughly $20 and 327₽ is roughly $5. Please let me know if this is wrong!
> 
> If your curious, these are the [chocolates!](https://www.richart-chocolates.com/chocolates/infuzzz-intensely) And Yurio ate the one called Raspberry Lips.
> 
> Oh! I'm going to shamelessly promote my other YOI fic! I hope you guys give it a go! It's a [Western themed AU!!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17391215/chapters/40932179)

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to show, Yuuri and Yurio bonding so I had them watch the Cheetah Girls movie for obvious reasons! And if there are readers who are too young to remember or don't know the movie, I suggest you watch it if you're curious! And if you HAVE seen the movie, the reason I decided for Yurio to choose Cinderella is because of the whole Russian Fairy nickname and the theme of the song. Also, even though Yurio is pretty mature in the series, he is still a young teen so I just wanted to show his softer, kid side towards the end with Makkachin!
> 
> And don't worry! I haven't forgotten about our dear neighbor Evgeni Ovechkin ;) Yes, I got two hockey players and merged their names.


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